#Chrysler Has "10-year Window" To Prove Itself, Says New Owners

[Auto Styling News]

Chrysler has 10 more years to prove itself as a viable brand, says it's new European Masters, Stellantis.

CEO Carlos Tavares says he's giving his brand execs a 10-year window to prove their worth. He says all 14 brands (Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram and Vauxhall) are being "given a chance."

“We’re giving each a chance, giving each a time window of 10 years and giving funding for 10 years to do a core model strategy. The CEOs need to be clear in brand promise, customers, targets and brand communications. If they succeed, great. Each brand is given the chance to do something different and appeal to customers.”

As you may or may not know, Chrysler currently has an anemic lineup of just two name plates, the Pacifica minivan, which comes both as a combustion engine and electric version as well as a stripped-down version they're calling the Voyager. 

They also have one car, the 300, which, while it has been updated several times, essentially is the same four-door sedan as when it was introduced in 2005.

If Tavares is honestly giving this brand a chance, he needs to seriously rethink the strategy of the previous owners, FCA.

To succeed, Chrysler will have to somehow developed a mini ute - the most popular vehicle in America right now, which is for some reason lacking in its lineup. It will also have to develop an electric strategy because many cars, if not most, in the 2030s will be electrified.

California is looking at going with a ban on all combustion engine car sales in the 2030s, as are several nations in Europe, such as Ireland and Germany.

Chrysler should look to other luxury car brands and see them as competitors once again. Clearly, the brand has lowered its standards and saw itself as a competitor to the likes of Ford and Chevy in the past few years. They need only look at Genesis to see how to build a highly successful luxury brand in this segment.
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Auto Styling News is a blog that covers car concepts, newly released models, and the auto industry.

As Stellantis Takes Over Chrysler, Can the Storied Name Be Saved? (Yes! Here's how!)

[Auto Styling News] 

Stellantis is the new owner of Chrysler. And very likely its last one.

The new brand name (created by marketers from the Latin word "stello," meaning, "to brighten with stars") consists of a mish-mash 14 Italian, French, German, British, and American automakers including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, FIAT, Jeep®, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, RAM, and Vauxhall.

The newly minted brand name takes over this month from FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) a company that oversaw extremely weak US sales not only for Chrysler, but for FIAT, Abarth, and Alfa Romeo. FCA Group acquired Chrysler in 2014.

Chrysler Corporation was of course founded as an American company in 1925 by Walter Chrysler from the remains of the Maxwell Motor Company. In 1998, it was acquired by Daimler-Benz, and the holding company was renamed DaimlerChrysler. 

The German-American union was not a happy one, with many differences coming to the surface about the direction of the company. In short, it was a really bad fit.

After Daimler divested Chrysler in 2007, the company briefly existed as Chrysler LLC (2007–2009) and Chrysler Group LLC (2009–2014) before merging in 2014 with the Italian holding company Fiat S.p.A. and becoming a subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

Chrysler has clearly fallen on hard times. It has two nameplates, the aging 300 sedan (first introduced in 2005) and the Pacifica van (it has an electric version of the van and a stripped-down model now using the iconic Voyager name, but these are just badge-engineering exercises. They have two.)

That's really sad for several reasons, not least is which that company has a recent history of innovation and large, exciting lineups. Lee Iacocca revived the company from bankruptcy and (paid back government loans - early!) with the K-Car line. In the 1990s, the company had success after success with exciting concept cars that they brought to market. Among them was the PT Cruiser, which sold in the millions.

The 300, back in the day, was also a huge hit. The Crossfire fired imaginations, and the LHS was a gorgeous car that made it to production as a beautiful vehicle, part of the "cab-forward" design style that captured America's imagination. They introduced many new nameplates that sold well in that era.

The company could use a dose of the spirit of the '90s and early 2000s right about now - a spirit that showed many concepts taken to the market, a daring can-do spirit that showed it was a bold car designer, not just a retread, recycling old nameplates on boring vehicles, as they are now.

The once-luxury brand has no top-of-the-line "halo car," no SUVs, no mini-Utes (the hottest vehicle type on the market) and no sports cars for middle aged men to buy during their mid-life crises.

Last year sales were anemic. It sold around 110,500 vehicles, about one-third its volume in 2015, according to company figures.

Fiat, a maker of small cars reintroduced to the US in 2011, also saw a sharp drop-off in sales.

Experts believe there is a consolidation of the new car conglomerate's 14 brands coming, and that doesn't bode well for Chrysler.  One news site suggested that Chrysler was already dead (as a name, anyway) when their sign was replaced with the Stellantis one at their storied Auburn Hills, Michigan headquarters.

Regardless of when it happens, it almost seems inevitable that the brand is going to fade away, unless someone in the new company's Amsterdam, Holland headquarters decides to revive it in a BIG WAY.

It's not hard to see how it could regain its footing. It must launch a solid, stylish luxury SUV. It must launch a dependable mini-UTE that actually stands out from its many vanilla competitors, and it must launch a hot sports car that captures imaginations.

That's a tall order, since new vehicles take 2-5 years to produce through the traditional  auto design pipeline. But these are not ordinary times, and innovation is called for if Chrysler hopes to survive to see its 100th birthday.

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Auto Styling News is a blog that covers car concepts, newly released models, and the auto industry.

The 2012 Chrysler 300: A Winning Luxury Car - from Detroit!

The 2012 Chrysler 300 is a major step up for Chrysler. It's a beautiful vehicle that has retro styling and modern features. They really hit a home run with this one.

The 2012 300 is changed somewhat from the original 2005 model year vehicle, which successfully, and to critical acclaim, revived the well-respected model nameplate from the 1950s through the 1970s.

This is a car that, from the first glance, makes the heart race and the blood pump. It's worthy of the Chrysler name. And that's saying a lot, considering some of the cookie-cutter vehicles they've given us in years past.

It's at once smoother and more luxurious-looking than the previous 300 and instantly recognizable as the same model. That's a feat in itself worthy of great admiration and praise to Chrysler's design team.

The first major change can be seen in the headlamps, which have shed the rounded appearance of the previous decade's models and have become more of a curved rectangle, with brilliant LED lights in a sideways "U" pattern facing inward towards the grille (reminding one of the Audi headlamps, but without that brand's rather garish "pout" look.) These are far more pleasing and more modern than the earlier model, and they are executed much better than on its sister car, the Chrysler 200, which is saddled with lamps that look plain and boring. Here, their excitement is palpable, as it their beauty, and they add to the design significantly.

The grille, even from a distance, is gorgeous, with a slight indentation on either side, making the center prominent and shimmery. The deck of the hood is creased nicely down the center, and one hopes for an even deeper crease in future models, as was seen in the Crossfire.

The side doors are large and tall - one of the defining features of the older model which continues on this one. Thankfully so, since this gives it a character and presence that isn't found on other cars on the road, and while some think this is a "gangsta" feature, it also hearkens back to cars in the '50s and '60s which were larger and heftier than today's models - and looked it.

The overall shape of the car is a symphony of curves that are gentle and pleasing. A crease that leads from just under the rear window into the trunk section carries the eye to the rear with great ease and is quite stunning in its execution

The tail lamps are as beautiful and intricate as the headlamps, with a peaked crease down the center, punctuated with a white section that also features beautiful styling. It's obvious when care has been taken to get the details right. Without these tail lamps, the overall design of the rear section might be compared to the Nissan Altimas of the last decade, which it does still resemble. But the lamps are far more integrated with the lower bumpers than that Altima's was, and the gently curved "wing" on the trunk puts those kinds of comparisons to rest rather quickly.

The interior is lush and gorgeous, as one might expect. The blue-lighted gauges are substantial-looking and quite retro in their styling, and the steering column features a beautiful rendition of the winged Chrysler name badge that can also be found on the hood and tailgate.

With a base price of just over $28,000, Chrysler has positioned the 300 as a true American luxury car (far more plausibly than the 200, which clearly does not belong in that category, despite Chrysler's insistence.) The 300, I believe, will easily hold its own and compete with Buicks and Cadillacs in the same price range, as well as lower-end Lexus's and Acuras. I sincerely hope the build quality lives up to the amazing styling, because if it does, Chrysler has another winner on their hands.

(Both photos above from the Chrysler 300 promotional website: http://www.chrysler.com/en/2012/300.)